Page 104 of Risky Passion

“Thanks, man, I appreciate that.” I tore a sandwich in two and handed half to Onyx, who sat patiently at my side with her tail thumping against the timber floor.

Cobra bounded down the hallway, bouncing on his prosthetic like a kangaroo with Charlie yapping at his heels.

“Tell us where you found those boxes,” Ryder said as he reached for another sandwich. “’Cause I’ve searched Angelsong Orphanage myself and found squat.”

“I found them,” Whitney said, brushing a crumb from his chin. “I was processing the body Jaxson found when I heard?—”

“Hold up,” Yasmin cut in, her brow arched. “Are you talking about a skeleton that was attached to that skull you brought in?”

“No.” Whitney shook his head. “Jaxson found a grave with a fresh body. But that’s a whole other story. I’ll let Jaxsonfill you in on that.”

“Later,” I said as Cobra returned and handed me a T-shirt and cargo pants. “Thanks, buddy.” I nodded at Cobra. “Get back to how you found the boxes, Whitney.”

“Right.” Whitney leaned forward. “I was working the crime scene behind the orphanage. Do you remember seeing the fountain with the angel statue?”

Whisper, Ryder, and Cobra all nodded, and their expressions darkened as if they could picture the eerie setting.

“Well, Jaxson found a fresh grave near that fountain. But he left to search for Tory.” Whitney tilted his head toward her.

“My knight in shining armor,” she teased, and as she grinned at me, her eyes sparkled with mischief.

My stomach swooped with the weirdest sensation, and my damn cock pulsed.

“Anyway . . .” Whitney dragged the word out, and I had a feeling he’d caught onto the unspoken exchange between us. “I was processing the body when I heard a car pull up.”

He gestured toward me. “We’d already agreed that if anyone other than Jaxson or Parker showed up, I’d hide.”

“Smart move,” Ryder said, nodding as he reached for a pastry.

“Yeah, it turned out to be the right call,” Whitney said. “I packed up my evidence kit in record time and bolted inside. Made it upstairs just as Cooper parked the cop car.”

Parker’s head snapped up. “Cooper drove his cruiser there? That’s ballsy.”

Whitney bulged his eyes. “Ballsy or just plain stupid. He didn’t even try to be subtle, rolling up like he owned the place. And he knew exactly where he was going. No hesitation. I’d bet good money he’d been there before.”

“I was wondering how you got that cop car out front,” Parker said, jerking his head toward the parking lot.

“That’s Eddie’s car,” I replied as I fed Onyx a slice of pizza.

“What?” Parker blinked, clearly confused. “So where’s your Jeep?”

“Got blown up by an RPG.”

“What the fuck?” Parker blurted, his jaw dropping. “Who the hell shot an RPG at you?”

“That’s another story,” I said, cocking my head at Tory.

“Yeah, I’ll tell you guys about it later.” Tory’s sexy lips quirked up in the cutest grin that sent a spark of heat right through me.

“So, let me get this straight.” Whisper set her black eyes on me and put her hands on her hips. “Eddie and Cooper were working together?”

I shrugged. “I don’t know for sure, but Eddie definitely tried to kill Tory and me.”

“Jesus.” Ryder shook his head, reaching for a slice of cake. “This story gets more messed up by the minute.”

“You haven’t even heard the good parts yet,” I said, nodding toward Whitney.

Between bites, Whitney filled them in about Cooper waiting for B to turn up, and that she arrived on a motorcycle. He explained them carrying the fresh body from the shallow grave site.

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